Welcome Home?
by Kakashis-girl02
Summary: It's been years since Sasuke left Konoha. What happens when old memories collide with present dreams. Eventual SasukeXSakura
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Sasuke has been gone for a number of years. The village is functioning, until one day it hits a problem when distant memories collide with the present. What does this mean for some of the villagers? Eventual SasuXSaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters/ideas sigh, I wish I did

**_A/n: Hey you guys, this is Kakashis-girl02!! Well, this is my first fanfic. I'm about to hyperventilate hoping you guys will like my story. Sigh, hope you enjoy it.  
Kakashis-girl02_**

**_ Welcome Home?_**

Today was the day, the day that **_HE_** left. Every Konoha shinobi knew of him. He was listed as an S-class criminal in the bingo book. His name was only uttered to remind those young shinobi of his treason; Uchiha Sasuke.

Apologetic glances, remorseful words, Haruno Sakura had been receiving these pitiful gestures all day. A fragile cherry blossom, ready to let go of the clinging branch. That's what they thought she was; weak, fragile, and insecure. She had to escape this torture. She had to run. With every step she took, she was trying to escape the fleeting sense of self-pity and grief. But you can't outrun your misery, at least not for long.

Her lush pink hair was flowing behind her back, shimmering in the wind. She was intentionally putting chakra in her steps to escape the city, and escape her misery. The young kunoichi's deep emerald orbs were brimming with unwanted tears. She thought of them as a reminder of her vulnerability. _Weakling_, she smite herself. _That's what you always have and always will be._

She gave an involuntary shudder. No one could understand the pain she was in. The pain she never showed. She was always optimistic and bright on the outside, but internally hurting. She thought of the cornerstone of shinobi foundation. Never under any circumstances should a shinobi show emotion. With every bound and, leap she was entering more wild terrain. The forest was getting think and dense. Her legs were beginning to prick and burn. They were on the verge of going numb. _Maybe I can numb my feelings; maybe I can forget I ever loved him!_ With that thought, the tears started streaming down her face. How fitting was it that it was raining on such a miserable day. She thought of her friends and family, what would they think if she "accidentally" got lost, venturing into unknown land? _No,_ she thought, _that just shows them that you are weak, you're stronger than they care to think or know. _Only one person knew her that well, Naruto.

Naruto gave Hinata a kiss on the cheek.  
"I'm going to check on Sakura-chan," he murmured.

"Give her my regards."

Naruto gave her a thoughtful glance.  
"No," he replied,"Sakura-chan is strong. If there's one thing I know, she doesn't need people's condolences. Even I was wrong to think that."

She smiled, and he headed out the door.

Naruto gave a sigh and headed towards his best friend's apartment. These last few years had been kind of hard for her; Naruto was the only one to notice. He could sense that she wasn't there. He sniffed the air. An unfamiliar aroma lingered in the air, one that he hadn't smelled in a while. Her chakra was heading away from Konoha, into the forest.  
"Kuso," he mumbled and ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair. He could taste the pain on her chakra and smell the tears. _Why is HE still giving her all of this trouble? _Sakura had opened up to Naruto after their comrade had left. He was the only one who knew what she was going through, since he endured that same cruel feeling as a child. Naruto and Sakura shared a bond. Not like his love for Hinata, but a brother sister love. They respected each other. They knew their strengths, weaknesses, and limits. That man Sasuke had broke her heart. If he ever stepped foot in Konoha, he didn't know how to make him pay. Days on end after he left, Naruto cared for Sakura. They created that bond then, no one could break it; not even the Uchiha.

The rain had been falling steady for a while now. It did not look as if it would let go of its rein any time soon. Finally, Sakura stopped running. She couldn't take it. She collapsed to her knees with a sound of defeat. She was panting and was in agony. Her never ending tears mingled with the rain on her face. _Why couldn't he have stayed with me? I would have done anything for him to stay, anything. Did he not know that? It was his cold-blooded brother's entire fault. _Sasuke had once told Sakura the story; the story of a killer, Uchiha Itachi.

_**Flashback**_

**_Sasuke was sitting with Sakura on Team 7's training grounds. He was reliving his past. He was reliving the most painful memory of his life.  
"That night I came home--- I came home to find my parents dead, in their own puddles of crimson blood._**

**_I was panicking. I had to find my brother. Finally I found him.  
'Why, why did you do it, Itachi?'_**

'**_I did it, to test my capacity, little brother.'"_**

"_**My brother," he exclaimed," exterminated the legendary Uchiha clan, to test his capacity!" his voice rose to a crescendo.**_

**_He slammed an angry fist down.  
"I will avenge my clan, and I will killed my so called brother Itachi."  
Sasuke was shaking with anticipation and excitement.  
"So does that mean that you will leave, Sasuke?"_**

_**He spared her no glance.  
"Yes, Sakura, one day I have to leave."**_

_**She looked at him with eyes alight with worry.**_

"_**Why? Why can't you just train here and get stronger, there is so much more for you here!"**_

"_**Don't you see, Sakura? I have NOTHING here. You guys are the ones that make me weak, you guys pull me down. Orochimaru left me with a promise. I will get stronger under his supervision."  
"You're wrong about one thing, Sasuke. You have something here, me."**_

_**End Flashback**_

_He left me, because he's an avenger,_ she thought. _He left me, because he needed power from the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. What if Itachi had never killed his family? Would Sasuke be happy, and would he still be here? And still with me? _She sighed. _No, _she thought, _I was always a nuisance. Always needing rescuing, holding everyone down._ While wallowing in her self-pity, the flowers danced. They formed the image of a face, a face missing from the village of Konoha for years, the face of Sasuke. Ever since the day Sasuke left, Sakura saw him everywhere. His memory tormented. He was like a ghost, waiting for its life's mystery to be solved to go to the light in the sky. The night that Sasuke left, he took no personal belongings with him. What he didn't know was that he took Sakura's heart with him. Lost in the vacuums of time, Sakura failed to someone coming behind her. It was someone she knew very well.

_**A/n: Cliffie, I know. I will try to update by next Monday**. **Well, hoped you liked it. I am open to any comments or criticism from you guys. I would love to hear what you guys think I can improve on and what you think of my story. I've been on Fanfiction for a while reading stories. Well, until next time you guys.  
Kakashis-girl02**_

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	2. Remembering

_**A/N: Hey you guys, its Kakashis-girl0! So sorry for the long wait. Sometimes writer's block comes at inconvenient times. LOL!! Well, here's the update. Thanks for the reviews sakuragirl721 and ew-uranerd.  
**_Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Naruto or anything about it. Darn!_**  
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**Chp. 2: Remembering**

She felt a strong grip pull her up by the waist. Next thing she knew, she was in a warm, loving embrace. She finally let go. She had to release her bottled up feelings to the only person that understood her, Naruto. Her breath became uneven through her sobs. She had begun to feel that unwanted sense of helplessness. Sakura looked into his cerulean gaze.

"Why did he leave us, Naruto," Sakura questioned, her voice wavering.

He gave her a thoughtful glance, even after all of those years he still didn't know.

"I honestly don't know, Sakura-chan," he gave a sigh.

They stood in the pounding rain holding each other, absorbing each other's pain. _Why did he leave us_, Naruto wondered. _Why does he still have this hold over her? _

A lonesome tear rolled down Sakura's cheek. It was a lone reminder of all of her suffering. As the tear slid down her face the atmosphere changed. Malice filled the air. As her tear fell to the ground and met with the rain, it happened. The earth shook and trembled, forcing the two to fall to the ground. They both knew who it was, but they didn't know why.

Sasuke remembered the day that he left his village. It was a day much like this; raining as if it was the tears shed by his friends, telling him to stay. The rain had been whispering to him that day, don't leave, Sasuke, we'll miss you. It had made him amused. This village was weak but he had nowhere else to go. His tasks were nowhere near completed, seeing that he had killed the former Akatsuki member, his brother, Itachi. When he returned to kill his former sensei and his lackey, they had disappeared. He knew that he would be shunned for a while after his return, but that didn't stop him. As he jumped from the branches of the enormous trees, an unintended site made him stop.

An unwanted feeling of longing made him stop; up ahead in a clearing stood Naruto and Sakura. Sakura, he played with the name in his mind. They both had grown immensely. The blonde had grown in height, and wore a different outfit. Sasuke guessed that he had also grown in power. He now looked to the kunoichi. Sakura now had the many curves of a woman, and she had also progressed in height. Her lush pink hair was still cut short, but the thing that caught his attention was her eyes. They were still as beautiful as before. He could tell that she had been crying, seeming as though her eyes were glassy and not as optimistic as usual. He used this to his advantage. As her last tear hit the ground, he jumped. Before hitting the ground, his fist collided with the grass, causing the earth to rumble. Steadily, he approached his teammates.

Naruto pulled Sakura up, they both instinctively pulled kunai to the ready. They felt his presence; a powerful amount of chakra coming in waves. Sakura dropped her kunai with a clatter. Her face became pale and she trembled.

"S-s-Sasuke-kun," she struggled.

The look on her face was incredulous. Thoughts were racing through her mind and they wouldn't leave. Sasuke gave his famous at the mention of his name. He nodded,

"It's been a while, Naruto, Sakura," he then turned towards Sakura.

"Have you changed at all Sakura? It looks as though you have been crying. Haven't they taught you not to show any emotion? Or are you still the annoying, weak kunoichi you once were?"  
Sakura's eyes turned to slits at this snide comment. Hadn't she worked hard for this moment? Hadn't she labored to change? Yes, she was strong; no one could ever change that.  
"I know that I've changed, Sasuke. I don't know that you have. Have you achieved anything under Orochimaru? I know I've changed under Tsunade-sama. Or are you still the same cold-hearted bastard that betrayed this village; betrayed the village for power. I've change, have you, Sasuke?"

Tension filled the air it was a strong presence. It was so strong it was supplying their chakra with hate; forgetting their old feelings. Suddenly, the world was spinning. Everything was a blur of colors. Sakura had landed an attack on Sasuke so fast that he couldn't even defend himself. The blurring became worse and Sasuke collapsed. Sakura had embedded a kunai in a chakra node to make him incapacitated. Sakura had, for the time being, subdued Sasuke. He glanced at her. His smirk was growing, almost to a smile.

"I see that you have changed, Sakura."

His eyes were becoming heavy, his lids started to droop. The darkness was beginning to fill his sight, his body, his soul. He then slipped into the black oblivion of unconsciousness.

Beep, beep, beep. This is the sound that Sasuke awoke to. Two ANBU Black Ops members were watching him. He was the traitor to this village, now and forever. He glanced around the room. His eyes landed on the only other person in the room, Sakura. The kunoichi was dozing off in a chair next to his bed. Her longed to reach out and touch her awake her to see her beautiful eyes… Why, why was he feeling this now? He was beginning to weaken ever since he left Orochimaru. He remembered when they had first seen each other in the meadow. Her eyes had filled with hate, with rage. This sent an unwanted shiver down Sasuke's spine. Sakura stirred in her sleep, and then her eyes fluttered open. She groggily lifted her head off of her hands.

"Oh, Sasuke…Tsunade-sama said you wouldn't be awake for awhile…," her voice trailed off.

She immediately averted his gaze. How long ago had he left? All time had blended together in his search for power. He hadn't expected for her heart to be this battered, this broken.

"Its okay, Sakura."

She glanced up, not expecting to get a response. Sakura nodded, and then left.

Sasuke's thoughts began to envelope him. Had he really expected for a "welcome home?" Had Sasuke really expected for his comrades to accept him after what he had done to them, especially Sakura? Had he really made their lives this troubled, torturing their every thought? Their every thought had been with him while he was miles away. Naruto had promised Sakura to bring him back, because he had hurt Sakura. What had Sakura been thinking? He knew that she thought that if she had loved him that he would stay. Her love though, had been unrequited for so many years. Why hadn't he expected these outcomes? Maybe if he would have calculated more would he have expected this? They soon would start to accept him; they would start calculating _his_ moves. Only after they had watched him, deemed him the "old Sasuke" would they welcome him. It would be a long road. This road would be filled with old hurt and distant memories.

Sasuke then noticed a faint movement in the chairs. The ANBU members stood up.  
"Tsunade-sama would like to speak to you," one of the members uttered.

When Sasuke got up, he noticed that he was in his old attire; the black jumpsuit with the Uchiha fan on the back. He then stood up; his fate would be decided in the mere hours. Was he ready?

**A/N: So, what do you guys think? I thought that it was pretty good, I don't know though. Please, please, please, if you read PLEASE give me a review. Well, I will try to put this on by next Sunday. Until next time…  
Kakashis-girl02**

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